TEFSCBSS Chapter 113

Chapter 113: The Envoys from the Jin Kingdom Have Arrived—and They’re Playing a New Game

Of course, aside from Su Yao’s relentless schemes against Su Li, Prime Minister Su was secretly playing quite a few games of his own behind the scenes.

As the head of all civil officials, he had always disdained brute force. Bloodshed and violence were never part of his aesthetic.

What he truly enjoyed was manipulating people with intricate plans, backing them into a corner until they had no way out—forcing them to wither in despair. That kind of outcome gave him a deep sense of accomplishment.

And now, his opponent was none other than the “daughter” he had raised for over ten years. In his mind, she was just a girl—raised by his side, deliberately molded to be naive and compliant. He figured that with a flick of his finger, she would obediently fall in line and offer up whatever value she had.

He was now fairly certain the “treasure” was with Su Li and not the Third Prince.

It wasn’t that he looked down on the Third Prince, but the man had been removed from the center of political power for years. Even in the capital, he was nothing more than a coward hiding in the Imperial Academy.

If he had the treasure, wouldn’t he have done something with it by now?

Su Li, on the other hand, was a different story.

Her recent changes hadn’t escaped the Prime Minister’s notice. His schemes failed, and he kept getting pushed back—this wasn’t something the dimwitted daughter he’d raised could have pulled off.

The only explanation was that Su Li had activated the treasure.

Perhaps she had been playing dumb this whole time, pretending to be a fool to hide her real self!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

But now that he was sure the item was with Su Li, things were simpler.

She hadn’t left the script shop since leaving the Prime Minister’s residence, and had barely gone anywhere else. That treasure must be hidden in the shop.

And Su Li’s increasingly bold behavior was challenging his authority—he was furious.

After that day, he didn’t punish Su San. Instead, he gave him a task: kill Su Li within a month, before the foreign envoy delegation arrived.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

But to his surprise, no matter how many people Su San sent, they all disappeared without a trace. Even Su San himself ended up seriously injured and comatose.

Who on earth was helping Su Li?

Or was the treasure powerful enough to summon some hidden force to protect her?

No matter how hard the Prime Minister racked his brain, he couldn’t guess that the truth was… Su Li was unknowingly beating them to a pulp in her sleepwalking state—sending seasoned generals flying with a single slap, leaving even the veteran guards assigned by the princess to do nothing more than corpse collection.

(Su Li: Why do my arms ache so much lately? Are those… biceps??)

For now, the Prime Minister’s plans were at a standstill.

He needed a better, more reliable strategy.

———

Time flew by, and while the author went off for some roast chicken, the capital had grown lively once more.

At the West Gate, a convoy of luxury carriages rolled into the city, escorted by a team in dark uniforms.

Next to the procession was the pitiful Third Prince, Han Yueyi.

He rode a big white horse with a look of utter despair.

Why was he the one assigned to greet the envoy?

He had waited for hours on a small hill outside the city for them to arrive. And now, instead of taking the usual half-hour return trip, they were dragging it out for two hours.

He was starving! So hungry his stomach was practically touching his spine.

He hadn’t even eaten breakfast—didn’t want to embarrass Great Yin or risk being caught needing a bathroom mid-trip.

And now it was noon. As they passed the street vendors near the city, the smell of roast meats and savory dishes wafted into his nose, torturing him. Yet he still kept a straight face, dutifully playing the part of a dignified and aloof prince.

This delegation from Jin was no joke—it even included a prince, Xie Yanting, and a princess, Changting.

It looked like the Jin Kingdom was seriously considering a political marriage.

Han Yueyi couldn’t figure out what their exact intentions were yet, so he kept calm and decided to take things one step at a time.

He escorted the delegation to the guesthouse, had people arrange their accommodations, and then returned to the palace to report in.

No sooner had he left than three people stepped out of the inn.

They were Prince Xie Yanting, Princess Changting, and a woman dressed like a maid.

Yet the princess treated her with great respect.

“Big Sister Zhou, is that script shop that fun?”

Zhou Jin smiled. “Your Highnesses, would I lie to you?”

She paused. “Besides, I heard the Emperor of Great Yin is planning to have the envoy delegation participate in some kind of ‘challenge’ at the script shop. It wouldn’t hurt to check it out ahead of time and get a feel for the place.”

Xie Yanting didn’t respond, but signaled for her to lead the way.

Zhou Jin walked ahead with a bright smile, though the moment she turned away, that smile vanished.

Hmph. I’m sick of pretending with them. Once my goal is reached, we’ll see if I don’t grind their smug little heads into the dirt.

———

By the time Zhou Jin and company arrived at the script shop, Su Li and the others had already finished studying a new tabletop game and were beta-testing it in the main hall with a group of players.

Dressed in casual clothes, the new arrivals didn’t draw any suspicion.

After all, it wasn’t unusual for young nobles to visit the shop. While most used private rooms, a few liked joining the more chaotic public sessions—like Wang Bokao.

At the long table, more than ten people were playing and shouting at once, all offering different strategies.

“Come on, Young Master Wang, I told you to build up your troops first! Look, no one defended the base, and now it’s been raided!”

Wang Qingmu: Shut up! I was just careless!

“Only Monk Wufei played smart, quietly building up strength and catching everyone off guard.”

Wufei: Don’t start rumors! I’m just a humble monk!

“Miss Wan Niang is amazing! Her archers are like real soldiers—such a fierce female general!”

Wan Niang: You flatter me~ Keep it coming~

The scene was pure chaos, with the onlookers even more excited than the players. Say what you will about “silent watchers being true gentlemen”—this wasn’t chess, this was gaming, and more people meant more fun.

Three people arguing might give you a headache. Ten? Instant death.

Su Li had already slipped away, leaving Zhao Si in charge while she dragged Yun Yang off to work on the upcoming “Challenge the Shop” script.

Eventually, Wang Bokao was the first to lose—his base was raided, his resources cut off, and pride kept him from playing as a subordinate. He became a wanderer on the map and ultimately starved to death.

Player factions continued to fall until finally, Monk Wufei unified the map and was declared the first winner of this test round.

His faction would be immortalized in the in-game chronicle of Warring States, and because of his victory, the custom troop type he had created—“Converted Monks”—would become a playable unit for future players.

Moreover, Wufei would now have first pick of this troop type in every future game he played.

The crowd offered congratulations, then immediately begged for another round.

Zhao Si groaned—it took a mountain of scratch paper to run one round of this game.

But the players’ enthusiasm (and the sparkle of silver coins) made it impossible to say no.

Soon, the map was reset, and a new round began. Sitting among the players this time… was none other than Princess Changting herself.

Behind her stood Zhou Jin and Xie Yanting, ready to offer strategic advice.

She was determined to find out what made this game so legendary.